Bobbie Oskarson Diamond, 8.52 Carats, Is Fifth-Largest Found at Park

Bobbie Oskarson unearthed an 8.52-carat diamond at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, on Wednesday, making the gem the fifth-largest discovered at the park since its opening in 1972.

Oskarson, a Colorado resident, found the diamond while searching in the southwest corner of the Pig Pen search field, a 37-and-a-half acre field named for its muddy terrain after lengthy rainfalls, according to The Associated Press. The diamond measures roughly three-quarters of an inch in length and is about half the size of an American quarter and as big around as a standard No. 2 pencil.

Oskarson initially thought the icicle-shaped diamond was a quartz crystal because of its particular size and shape, although the park later confirmed that her find was, indeed, a very valuable diamond. She decided to name it the Esperanza Diamond after her niece, as well as because she liked its reference to “hope” in Spanish, according to the AP.

Although no estimate for the diamond’s worth has yet been released, the park’s largest diamond — the 40.23-carat “Uncle Sam Diamond,” which was discovered in 1924 —was cut into two pieces, one of which sold for approximately $880,000 by today’s standards, according to CNN.

Although the park opened in 1972, more than 75,000 diamonds have been discovered on the land since the first discovery in 1906, according to CNN. Diamond-hunters are allowed to keep their finds under the park’s “finders keepers” policy.

“Rain, plus the regular plowing of the search field by our maintenance staff, increases visitors' chances of finding diamonds in the search area,” Cox said, according to CNN.

Bobbie Oskarson unearthed an 8.52-carat diamond at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, on Wednesday, making the gem the fifth-largest discovered at the park since its opening in 1972.